Potential Anticancer Activity of Caspian Cobra Venom Through Induction of Oxidative Stress in Glioblastoma Cell Line

Abstract

Despite advances in therapeutic strategies in the management of cancer, malignant glioma remains difficult to treat due to progressive resistance to conventional drugs. New studies made efforts to develop new anticancer agents from the screening of natural compounds. The biodiversity of venoms and their bioactive toxins makes them a special source for the development of novel therapeutic agents. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of Naja naja oxiana (NNO) crude venom on U87MG glioma cell line. Cellular viability and the generated amount of reactive oxygen species were determined by MTT and redox-sensitive dye DCFH-DA, respectively. A dose-dependent decline in viability of cells along with increase in generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) occurred after the 24-h exposure to NNO venom. Incubation of RBC with NNO venom for 24 h indicated that hemolysis was not more than 6%. The results showed that NNO venom might act through the production of excess ROS, further disruption of mitochondrial function, and decrease in viability of U87MG without changes in the integrity of RBC membrane. However, more investigations are needed to find out detailed mechanisms by which NNO venom inhibits the viability of U87MG.

Keywords

Significance statement The authors identified that the Naja naja oxiana venom inhibits the viability of glioma cells through induction of the reactive oxygen species without any hemolytic effects on isolated red blood cells. Taken together, the present findings opened up interesting questions to find out the main mechanisms to the anticancer activity of this venom.